An Unexpected Email
I received an email this morning and way down at the bottom of the page, after the signature line it said, “If you’re receiving this email outside of your business hours, please feel free to respond when it’s convenient for you.”
Waking Up Early: A Surprising Morning Delight
The email was right about one thing, it was definitely not my business hours, 5am Sunday to be exact. I’ve been waking naturally early which thrills me because I’ve always wanted to be a morning person and suddenly I find myself awake before the sun.
The Luxury of Reading in Bed
I love reading and reading in bed is a total luxury. I consciously chose to read my work email, because it was both convenient and delightful.
A Moment of Incredulity
To be honest, the email left me thinking and feeling a lot of things, including incredulous.
- Say what? Is this where we are?
- In this day and age of technology, we have the power to silence every single notification known to mankind by every means and for durations of our choosing.
- We even have apps that lock in our healthy choices so that temptation can’t get us.
- All of the above will not help us if external pressure, expectation and your organization’s culture is the issue.
The Need for Healthy Boundaries
To resolve the latter, it’s going to take healthy boundaries unless, of course, you’re on duty (OB-GYN, police, fire, ambulance, etc.) and responding at all hours is what you signed up for.
Getting Started with Boundaries
If I lost you at healthy boundaries, inside the Cairn Network I’ve got a Guide and Checklist that will help you get started.
